Jamal Lewis is not panicking and neither, apparently, is Ravens head coach Brian Billick.
Baltimore?s running game, once its staple, has become less of a threat this season, even as the team sits atop the AFC North with a 4-0 record.
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“Eventually, my number will be called like that or whatever, but as long we?re winning, hey, it?s all sweet and all good,” Lewis said. “Soon, it will come.”
Lewis has carried the ball 73 times for 268 yards this season. Just three years ago, he was the AFC offensive player of the year after rushing for 2,066 yards and 14 touchdowns. He has been trying to live up to that season ever since.
Lewis said he is fine with his current average of 18.3 rushes a game and that the decreased workload is a byproduct of the teams the Ravens have played. In Sunday?s 16-13 win over the Chargers, he carried only 15 times for 34 yards.
“San Diego?s team was a great team,” Lewis said. “They play a great defense, and I compliment them very much. I?m sure it will come, and I?ll be ready.”
There is some concern that Lewis? 3.7 yards-per-carry average is a continuation of his performance in 2005, in which he totaled 906 yards with an average of 3.4 yards a carry.
He ran for a season-high 86 yards two weeks ago against Cleveland. It was one of two games that Lewis has averaged more than four yards a carry.
Lewis has not been the only Ravens running back to struggle. Some, in fact, aren?t getting many carries at all. Offseason signing Mike Anderson, a two-time 1,000-yard rusher during his seven-year career, did not even touch the ball against Cleveland.
Anderson, who has 59 yards and a touchdown, voiced concern about not touching the ball.
“Of course,” he said. “I?m a runner. That?ll come in due time. I?m here mainly so whenever they need me, I?m there. When I don?t get in the game, I try to get out here on the practice field.”
Musa Smith, who shined in the preseason, has been limited to 52 yards and no touchdowns this season.
Billick said stiff defenses have been the cause of the overall rushing dilemma.
“These last two games, we have been limited in our ability to run the ball, which is something we have to address,” Billick said. “You would love to get them all involved with it, but the number of snaps that we?ve had in the running game the last two games makes it a little prohibitive to get everybody involved. Jamal and Musa have been running very, very hard.”
Billick said he looking to find a balance with the backs.
“We need to get the ball in their hands more, as well,” Billick said. “It?s great to have that depth.”
Man on the run
» Jamal Lewis rushed for a season-high 86 yards in a Week 3 win over Cleveland.
» In 2003 he rushed for 2,066 yards, nearly eclipsing Eric Dickerson?s all-time mark.
» Lewis is only the second rookie to ever rush for more than 100 yards in a Super Bowl.
